TO kotzebue's sound. 193 



After I had amused myself, with my friends, in 

 this manner, for two hours, I took a short walk 

 into the interior of the island, but was soon obliged 

 to return on account of the fog. As I feared that 

 it might increase before we reached the ship, I was 

 obliged to quit the island sooner than I should 

 have done had the weather been fine. The savages 

 appeared affected at our leaving them, and promised 

 to visit us on board. The island is called by the 

 inhabitants^ Tschibocki ; and the country to the 

 east (America) Kililack. That part which we saw 

 had a most dismal appearance ; it consists of pretty 

 high mountains, covered with snow. Not a single 

 tree, not even a small bush, adorns the grey rocks, 

 only short grass sprouts up here and there between 

 the moss, only a few stinted plants rise above the 

 ground, and yet many a flower blows here. The 

 arms of the islanders, which they use for the chace 

 as well as war, consist of bows, arrows, and lances ; 

 the two latter are furnished with a broad, well- 

 wrought iron head : these, as well as their other 

 European utensils, we afterwards learnt they re- 

 ceived from the Tschukutskoi. They do not ap- 

 pear ever to have seen any European, to judge by 

 the amazement with which they beheld us. Nothing 

 attracted their attention so much as my telescope; 

 and when I showed them its properties, and they 

 really saw quite distant objects close before their 

 eyes, they were seized with the most extravagant 

 joy. At two o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived 



VOL. I. o 



